Retail and leisure destinations should prepare for ‘Super Saturday’ on 23rd December, as customers finally make big purchases after a period of ‘cautious’ spending in the build up to Christmas.
This year, Hammerson expects leisure and entertainment brands to be the real winners on 23rd December and Christmas Eve, with customers wrapping up their shopping and enjoying leisure, social and dining with their families before Christmas.
Alex Evered, Head of Insights at Hammerson said: “We have seen the Christmas shopping season build. Since Black Friday footfall has increased vs 2022 and we expect to see customers increasingly throw caution to the wind with their budgets culminating in one of the busiest shopping days of the year on the 23rd December.
“Physical stores have the advantage this year as tightened household budgets mean customers want to understand the value, price, and quality of any items before they purchase, rather than risking ordering online and now paying delivery and returns fees. In addition, postal strikes in recent years will also influence how people choose to shop as they seek to avoid any potential disruption.
“With Christmas Eve falling within Sunday trading hours this year, shoppers will have an even greater incentive to wrap up their shopping and enjoy a ‘Sweet Sunday with leisure, dining and entertainment brands the night before Christmas.”
To underline the increasing positive trajectory of footfall, Hammerson assets welcomed 16 million visitors in November. This is anticipated to rise to c.20 million in December.
In Birmingham, Bullring alone welcomed more than 3 million customers in November with the majority of the assets attracting more than 1 million visitors in the same month including Cabot Circus in Bristol, Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin and Les 3 Fontaines in Paris.
During the year, there has been a strong performance in homewares, jewellery, and gifting foods across the portfolio:
- One of the top performing homewares stores is a new 26,000 sq ft H&M and H&M Home at Bristol’s Cabot Circus, which is now the largest in the Southwest following its opening in June.
- John Lewis has also opened a new pop-up at The Oracle in Reading which features a range of furniture, home accessories and festive items to meet Christmas demand.
- New jewellery brands include a dedicated Tag Heur boutique in Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin, a new upsized 8,000 sq ft Goldsmiths showroom at Bullring, including a dedicated entrance for a new Rolex area and a new Swarovski ‘WonderLux’ concept store at Terrasses du Port in Marseille.
ENDS